What is the cause of meniscus injury and leg disability

Meniscus injury is a relatively common joint disease. It usually occurs more frequently in young people. When a meniscus is injured, you must go to the hospital for examination and treatment in time, otherwise the damage will become more and more serious, and may even affect the normal function of the knee joint, which is what people often say is that the leg will be ruined. Is this true? Now let's talk about the issue of meniscus injury ruining the leg.

1. What does the meniscus look like?

The meniscus is two fibrous cartilage tissues located between the tibiofemoral joint. It is tightly connected to the joint capsule, has thick edges and a thin center, and is in a free state. The medial meniscus and the lateral meniscus appear as semi-moon C, D or O shapes when viewed horizontally, hence the name meniscus.

2.What is the function of the meniscus?

It increases the contact area of ​​the tibiofemoral joint and improves joint stability; in addition, it can also disperse pressure and impact force and play a buffering role. During daily walking, the force borne by the tibiofemoral joint is generally 2-3 times the body weight, and when running it is generally 3-5 times. If there is no meniscus as a cushion, or if the meniscus is severely worn, the chances of articular cartilage damage and arthritis will increase exponentially.

3.How does the meniscus get damaged?

Injury mechanism: Knee twisting + weight bearing = meniscus injury.

Common causes: Heavy landings caused by heavy weight climbing, inappropriate shoes and poor running posture lead to long-term chronic wear of the meniscus; accidental falls cause excessive twisting of the knee joint, resulting in acute meniscus injury.

4. In what situations should you go to the hospital?

1.) If you experience knee swelling, deep pain, and unusual popping sounds after a sprain or exercise, especially if the noise occurred at the time of injury, or if you feel an abnormal sensation of knotting or catching in the knee, you may have a meniscus injury.

2.) To confirm a meniscus problem, a regular X-ray is not enough, as X-rays look at dense bones.

In addition to preliminary clinical examinations (checking for joint space tenderness or McFarland's rotation test) and MRI examinations (with an accuracy rate of 90-95%), grinding, lateral pressure and other tests are also required to confirm the diagnosis.

3.) After the injury, you should let the injured leg rest well. If the injury is serious, you should not go to work despite the pain. If the doctor allows, you can go to work while wearing protective gear and avoiding weight bearing.

5.How many grades are there for meniscus injuries?

Level 0: Normal;

Grade I: punctate or spherical high signal shadows are seen in the meniscus, without involving the joint margin and articular surface;

Grade II: Linear and strip-shaped high-signal shadows are seen in the meniscus, which can reach the joint edge but do not involve the articular surface;

Grade III: abnormal high signal shadow involves the joint surface.

6. Will the injury heal on its own?

The vast majority of the meniscus is avascular, and only the 25% to 30% edge near the outer edge has relatively rich blood circulation and can repair itself. The rest of the body can only rely on the nourishment of the synovial fluid, and the repair speed is very slow. After meniscectomy, a thin and narrow fibrocartilaginous meniscus can be regenerated from the synovium, but the speed is also very slow. Therefore, once the meniscus is damaged, it will be extremely difficult to heal and must be protected and cherished.